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  • The Root Jams Weekly (5/29/2020): 'Protest Music'

    The Root Jams Weekly (5/29/2020): 'Protest Music'

    This week, month, and year have been exhausting for Black America. There’s always a battle raging somewhere against power structures that prey and pray for our downfall. Gathered here are a collection of staff-curated songs that embody the spirit of protest. #RIPGeorgeFloyd “Protest Music” (5/29/2020) Playlist Tonja Stidhum Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” The Beatles “Come…

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  • The Root Jams Weekly (5/22/2020): 'What a Bam Bam'

    The Root Jams Weekly (5/22/2020): 'What a Bam Bam'

    In honor of the upcoming Verzuz battle between legends Bounty Killer and Beenie Man on IG Live, The Root is bringing you a playlist full of the staff’s favorite West Indian island jams. “What A Bam Bam” (5/22/2020) J’na Jefferson Terror Fabulous “Action” Beres Hammond “Last War” Tenor Saw “Ring the Alarm” Tonja Stidhum Beenie…

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  • Eryn Allen Kane's Song 'Fragile' Is One of The Most Beautifullest Things In This World

    Eryn Allen Kane's Song 'Fragile' Is One of The Most Beautifullest Things In This World

    I don’t know what I was doing awake on the Saturday before Easter (April 12), at midnight, but whatever it was, I Shazam’d a song at 12:05 A.M. My best guess is that, per usual, I was watching a movie, or some television show and heard a snippet of a song that tickled my fancy.…

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  • The Root Jams Weekly (5/15/2020): 'A Long Walk'

    The Root Jams Weekly (5/15/2020): 'A Long Walk'

    This week’s playlist is both in honor of Jilly from Philly and E. Badu’s Verzuz battle from last weekend, but also because in our current climate, a long walk is what many of us rely on for a bit of peace. “A Long Walk” (5/15/2020) J’Na Jefferson India.Arie “Can I Walk With You” Frank Ocean…

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  • Even 20 Years Later, Lucy Pearl's Sole Album Is Still as Perfect as Ever

    Even 20 Years Later, Lucy Pearl's Sole Album Is Still as Perfect as Ever

    As is typically the case whenever I’ve undertaken a project of some sort that requires me to carve out a sizable block of time to complete, I try to queue up a few albums that I know I love with high replay value so I don’t have to spend a lot of time skipping tracks.…

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  • The Root Jams Weekly Playlist (4/17/2020): 'A Lovely Day'

    The Root Jams Weekly Playlist (4/17/2020): 'A Lovely Day'

    One thing we have a lot of here at The Root is music enthusiasts. We even have a Grammy-nominated artist (The Glow Up Managing Editor Maisyha Kai) amongst our ranks. The musical appreciation runs deep. Once upon a time not long ago, The Root created weekly music playlists, curated by the staff and upped onto…

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  • I Told My Child That Batman and Black Panther Wouldn't Hang Out. There Were Tears

    I Told My Child That Batman and Black Panther Wouldn't Hang Out. There Were Tears

    In retrospect, I realize I was being kind of petty. Not on purpose, but being a stickler for contrived rules can make you petty, it turns out. Hell, I don’t even like it when I see my kids wearing Adidas shoes with Nike sweatshirts or sweatpants. It happens, and nobody is in the wrong, but…

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  • The Coronavirus Has Turned Me Into a Handyman. Temporarily, at Least

    You know what sound you don’t want to hear when you’re holed up in your house and you’re trying to avoid close contact with friends (humanity, really—and don’t even mention a whole-ass stranger in your house to fix shit because that’s entirely off the table)? No idea? Cool, I’ll tell you. You don’t want to…

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  • Netflix's Uncorked Reminded Me of a Fun Story About Unconventional Support From My Father

    Since we’re all stuck (or should be) inside the house for the foreseeable future (despite various projected goals for peak contagion and flattening curves—shoutouts to the homies Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx, y’all some real ones), the amount of movies and television shows being watched is about to put Netflix on par with Earth, Wind…

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  • The Sneaker Resale Market Is One of the Few Seemingly Unaffected by the Damned Coronavirus

    The Sneaker Resale Market Is One of the Few Seemingly Unaffected by the Damned Coronavirus

    If your soul so beckons you to fly to Atlanta in April, right now, you can literally buy a round-trip ticket from Washington, D.C., for $36. You might not be able to do shit while you’re there, but hey, that ticket price is hard to beat. Granted, it’s on Spirit Airlines, but shit, Door Dash-ing…

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Panama Jackson is the Senior Editor of Very Smart Brothas. He’s pretty fly for a light guy. You can find him at your mama’s mama’s house drinking all her brown liquors.


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